Chicago Wolves
The Chicago Wolves are a team in the American Hockey League. They are the top affiliate of the St. Louis Blues. They are one of the few teams to come from the old International Hockey League. History The Chicago Wolves won the Turner Cup twice (1998, 2000) in the IHL and the Calder Cup twice (2002, 2008). The Wolves qualified for all, but five postseasons (2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13, and 2015–16 seasons), appearing in seven league championship finals (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008 & 2019) in their 22-year history. The team's great star was forward Steve Maltais (who until his retirement after the 2004–05 season) had played every season of the franchise and holds most of its scoring records. Other notable players from the Wolves include goaltender Wendell Young, ex-Pittsburgh star Rob Brown, and long time Chicago Blackhawks stars Troy Murray, Chris Chelios & Al Secord. The Wolves had their best season start in their 14-year history, during the 2007–08 season, winning 13 of the first 14 games with an overtime loss. The Wolves finished the season with 111 points, and first in the Western Conference. The Wolves were the AHL affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers from 2001 to 2011. The Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in June of 2011 & added the St. John's IceCaps (formerly the Manitoba Moose) as their new AHL affiliate, leaving the Wolves and the NHL's Vancouver Canucks to find new affiliates. On June 27, 2011, the Wolves and Canucks agreed to a two–year affiliation agreement. On April 23, 2013, the Wolves and St. Louis Blues reached a three-year affiliation agreement. The deal was struck after the Canucks and Wolves decided not to renew their existing affiliation agreement and purchased the Peoria Rivermen franchise from the Blues creating the Utica Comets. In November of 2016, it was first reported the Blues would not renew their affiliation with the Wolves and were planning to move their affiliation to Kansas City for 2017; however, this was unconfirmed and then denied by the announced potential owner in Kansas City, Lamar Hunt Jr. in a press release from his ECHL team in the area. It was further denied by the Missouri Mavericks & by AHL commissioner, David Andrews after the January 2017 Board of Governors meeting. After the 2016–17 season, the Wolves became the first affiliate of the NHL's expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights. The Blues did not re-sign with the Wolves to be their primary NHL affiliate for the 2017–18 season; however, Blues' general manager Doug Armstrong confirmed they would still send prospects to the Wolves for that season. During the first season of their affiliation with Vegas, the Chicago Wolves set a pair of franchise records in earning points in 14 straight games from December 9th to January 6th, and 13 consecutive home wins from December 6th to February 15th. In the 2018–19 season, the Wolves made the Calder Cup Finals, in which they lost to the Charlotte Checkers in five games. Affiliation History * 1999-2001: New York Islanders * 2001-2011: Atlanta Thrashers * 2011-2013: Vancouver Canucks * 2013-2017: St. Louis Blues * 2017-Present: Vegas Golden Knights Facts * Location: Rosemont, Illinois * Arena: Allstate Arena Category:American Hockey League teams Category:International Hockey League teams Category:Teams in Illinois Category:Teams in Rosemont